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Frederick Delius

(1862–1934)Composer, born in Yorkshire, whose parents were German immigrants and who spent most of his adult life on the Continent, but whose music is often considered to capture the spirit of the English countryside. Of his operas A Village Romeo and Juliet (completed 1901, first performed in Berlin 1907) has held the stage best; its famous intermezzo, 'Walk to the Paradise Garden', was added in 1907 to cover a scene change in the Berlin production.

His short orchestral works remain much performed, in particular Brigg Fair (1907, an 'English Rhapsody' based on Lincolnshire folk tunes), In a Summer Garden (1908, a response to his own garden at Grez-sur-Loing, near Fontainebleau) and On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring (1913, Leipzig). In the 1920s Delius became blind and paralysed but was able to continue composing when a young English musician, Eric Fenby (b. 1906), offered in 1928 to write down the works from dictation.